The present invention relates to shaving apparatus. The invention is particularly applicable to electrical shavers of the type including one or more rotary cutter members driven by an electrical motor, and is therefore described below with respect to such shavers.
For many years two basically different techniques have been used for shaving: (a) the xe2x80x9cwet shavexe2x80x9d, using a razor blade (straight blade or safety blade) and soap, lather, or a shaving cream for lubricating the skin and/or softening the hairs; and (b) the xe2x80x9cdry shavexe2x80x9d, using an electrical shaver on a dry skin. The main advantages of the xe2x80x9cwet shavexe2x80x9d are the ability of obtaining a close shave, the refreshing after-feeling produced after the shave, and the convenience of cleaning the shaver by merely rinsing the blade. The main advantages of the xe2x80x9cdry shavexe2x80x9d are the convenience of shaving almost whenever and wherever desired, the reduced danger of nicking, cutting or irritating the skin, and the elimination of the expense of frequent blade replacement since electrical shavers are generally self-sharpening during use.
Recently, several manufacturers have introduced electrical shavers for wet shaving. One type of electrical shaver is advertised for use with soap and water; whereas another type is advertised for use with an emulsion cream and includes a dispenser for dispensing the cream during use.
I have noted that when an electrical shaver is used for wet shaving, whether with soap and water, an emulsion cream, or other substance for lubricating the skin, the lubricating substance also wets the hairs in the skin, and therefore the shaver head tends to glide over the hairs. As a result, it fails to pick-up or closely cut some hairs such that the shave tends to be less close than with a blade.
An object of the present invention is to provide a shaver having advantages in the above respects. Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical shaver particularly adaptable for wet shaving.
According to the present invention, there is provided a shaver particularly useful for wet shaving hair from skin, comprising: a manually-grippable housing; and a cutter head carried by the housing and removably attachable thereto along the outer edge of the cutter head; the cutter head having a shaving face carrying a plurality of cutter units to be pressed into contact with, and to be moved along, the skin to be shaved; each of the cutter units having an inner side facing an adjacent cutter unit, and an outer side facing the outer edge of the cutter head. The novel shaver is characterized in that the cutter head further includes at least one relatively sharp scraper edge located between the outer side of at least one cutter unit and the outer edge of the cutter head so as to be pressable into the skin, forwardly of the respective cutter unit, to erect hairs in the skin and to tauten the skin in advance of the respective cutter unit as the cutter head is moved across the skin in the direction from the outer side towards the inner side of the respective cutter unit. The relatively sharp scraper edge does not extend to the inner side of the respective cutter unit facing its adjacent cutter unit so as to minimize possible irritation of the skin as the cutter head is moved across the skin.
An electrical shaver provided with a such a relatively sharp scraper edge may thus be used to engage and erect the hairs in advance of the cutter unit, and also to tauten the skin before engaged by the cutter unit, in a manner similar to the action of the two-blade or three-blade safety razor. Such a shaver thereby better assures a cleaner and closer shave than heretofore normally obtainable with an electrical shaver.
In the described preferred embodiments, the relatively sharp scraper edge is formed in a hard, low-friction material, such as hard plastic, metal, or metal-plated plastic.
According to a further feature in the preferred embodiments of the invention described below, the relatively sharp scraper edge is located on the cutter head such that the relatively sharp scraper edge is pressed into the skin to erect the hairs, and to tauten the skin, by tilting the cutter head with respect to the skin to bring the axis of the cutter head to an oblique angle with respect to the skin. Such a feature enables the user to render the scraper edge effective only when desired, by merely tilting the shaver with respect to the skin to be shaved, thereby further minimizing the possibility of irritating the skin by the scraper edge when a scraping action is not needed.
Several embodiments of the invention are described below for purposes of example.
In some described embodiments, each of the cutter units is circumscribed by a skin engaging surface of the shaver. In these described embodiments, the skin engaging surface has an inner side face facing the respective cutter unit, an outer side face facing away from the respective cutter unit, and an outer skin-contact face joining the inner and outer side faces; the relatively sharp scraper edge being formed in the juncture of the outer skin-contact face with the outer side face. In one of the latter embodiments, the relatively sharp scraper edge is defined by a sharp corner at this juncture, whereas in another described embodiment, it is defined by an outward extension of the skin-contact face at this juncture.
In some described embodiments of the latter feature, the skin engaging surface is in the form of a rim circumscribing each cutter unit; preferably, each of the rims includes an outer face formed with the relatively sharp scraper edge, and an inner face formed with a recess defining a gap with respect to the cutter unit to enhance the tautening of the skin in advance of the cutter unit. In another described embodiment, the skin engaging surface is in the form of a flat table within which all the cutter units are located, the scraper edge being formed in the outer face of the table.
A still further embodiment is described wherein the relatively sharp scraper edge is formed in the cutter head between the outer edge of the cutter head and two adjacent cutter heads and bridges the space between the two adjacent cutter heads. In this described embodiment, the relatively sharp scraper edge is formed in a slanted peripheral margin of the cutter head between the shaving face and the outer edge of the cutter head such that the relatively sharp scraper edge does not contact the skin being shaved during a normal shaving operation when the shaving face of the cutter head is pressed against the skin being shaved, but is brought into contact with the skin to erect the hairs and tauten the skin by tilting the cutter head to bring the axis of the cutter head to an oblique angle with respect to the skin.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.